Chapter 36 · A Throne With Teeth

"Get away from that chair, Sera." Kael caught my wrist before I could reach the kneeling soldier. "The Core wants you in front of the throne. Give it what it wants, and the guard will stop tearing itself apart."

"You mean give you a royal photo op." I twisted hard. His fingers locked tighter, warm against the metal band biting into my skin. "No crown. No speech. No standing beside you while the city watches me become your attack dog."

The soldier on the floor slammed his helmet into the black stone. Once. Twice. A red line opened above his eyebrow.

"Commander," another guard rasped through clenched teeth, "make it stop."

Kael did not look away from me. "I can’t. Not from here."

"You’re the ruler."

"Not anymore."

The dead throne behind him pulsed with blue-black light. Its hooked arms had grown out of the floor sometime during the last hour, curling around the platform like metal claws. The Core had turned the seat into a trap, and every controlled soldier in the chamber was chained to its signal.

Kael pulled me closer. My shoulder hit his chest.